minutes with instant moisture from k-y ultragel. severe weather ahead for millions in over a dozen states. blinding rain, tornados and large hail in the forecast. new details as russia blames syria for the deadly chemical weapons attack that took almost 100 lives. >> senator mccain goes up against the idiots in the handling of the president's supreme court nominees. >> exodus of companies pulling commercials from fox news's "the o'reilly factor." >> the controversy around the new kendall jenner pepsi ad. "early today" starts right now. glad to have you with us on a wednesday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> good to see you. i'm yasmin vossoughian.

buckle up today, 55 million americans in 13 states bracing for potentially strong tornados. in goodman, missouri a fire station took a hit from a tornado. buildings caving in on fire trucks along with trees in the area. in joplin cars were forced to deal with blinding rain and hail in other parts of the state. the next two days are rough weather wise. meteorologist bill karins tracking the storms. what are you seeing? >> this is one of those dangerous days, only a handful every spring. we're trying to save as many lives and prevent as many injuries as possible. the area of concern, the lower tennessee valley through the southeast. 55 million at risk. the area of red is the greatest chance for a tornado threat especially from montgomery, atlanta, augusta to macon, georgia. this area is most at risk late today. we'll take these storms all the way to the east coast as we go throughout the early morning hours tomorrow with a wind damage threat. once again, the threat is not just for tornadoes, but strong tornadoes that are on the ground

for a long time. those are typically the most deadly. >> we hope everybody comes out of it safe. this morning the u.n. security council hoping a meeting after a suspected chemical attack killed dozens of people in a rebel-held area of syria. a relief agency says at least 83 people died including 25 children. that at least 350 others were injured. the united states, britain and france all blame bashar al assad forces for the attack. here is nbc's richard engel with the details. >> reporter: the maim js that have come out are absolutely horrific. they show bodies strewn on the ground, no obvious signs of injuries, just dead and injured people motionless in some cases, struggling to breathe. the hallmark of a chemical weapon attack. that's exactly what syrian activists say happened, around 6:37 in the morning there was an explosion in the town of khan

shaykhun. a small town in idlib province in syria. people immediately started to feel ill. they were sweating profusely, they were foaming at the mouth, they were struggling to breathe. they would douse people with water to try to wash off this suspected agent, take off the contaminated clothing, then rush them to clinics. inside the clinics medical officials said that this was a nerve agent attack, and said they believe that because the victims had tiny pinpoint pupils and there was a mass number of casualties. some of the facilities are makeshift and in one of these clinics, as victims were treated, there was another explosion. even as first responders and medics trying to give life-saving aid. the syrian government has said that it was not responsible, syrian army said it never used chemical weapons. >> especially heart-wrenching to see the children. our thanks to richard engel for that report.

the russian defense ministry claims the syrian air force did not use chemical weapons but rather their air strike hit an alleged rebel chemicals stash. the russians did not provide evidence to support these claims. more troubling news out of north korea this morning. according to u.s. and south korea officials, north korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea of japan. the launch days before president trump is set to meet with the chinese leader. north korea will be discussed while mr. trump said his administration is prepared to tackle the rogue nation alone if necessary. his secretary of state rex tillerson had this terse response to the provocation. north korea launched another ballistic missile. the u.s. has spoken enough of north korea. we have no further comment. a month after president trump made well-known and unsubstantiated wiretapping claims the investigation continues. and what if any involvement with the russians the trump campaign may have had.

critics claim repeated attempts by the president and the white house to deflect attention. the latest target, former national security adviser to president obama susan rice. allegations she tried to unmask the identities of trump associates whose names appear in intelligence reports for political purposes. >> i believe susan rice abused this system and she did it for political purposes, she needs to be brought in and questioned. >> susan rice is the typhoid mary of the obama administration foreign policy. every time something went wrong she seemed to turn up in the middle of it. >> enough seriousness that we have to investigate. >> we're joined by tracie potts. what more can you tell us about susan rice's reaction. >> reporter: she said point-blank she did not reveal the name of former national security adviser mike flynn or anyone else who was connected to the trump transition. she flat out denies that. she also says it's not unusual to ask for some of these names to be unmasked when reading

classified documents. here is how she explained that. >> the notion that which some people are trying to suggest that by asking for the identity of an american person, that is the same as leaking it is completely false. there is no equivalence between so-called unmasking and leaking. i leaked nothing to nobody and never have and never would. >> reporter: of course, this is all part of the russia investigationtis that are going on, two on capitol hill. on the house side some lawmakers want to bring susan rice in to testify under oath so they can ask her questions about this as part of that investigation. back to you. >> nbc's tracie potts for us, thank you. overnight democrats launched a protest against the pick for supreme court judge neil gorsuch. oregon senator general mercley taking the the floor to wage an all-night talk-a-thon

after mitch mcconnell set in motion a confirmation vote for thursday that is sure to end with a historic fight. as of this morning democrats have 44 votes against gorsuch making the filibuster proof. republicans say they have no choice but to change senate rules to allow for a simple majority. the so-called nuclear option. the chamber, they're not happy about it. here is what senator mccain had to say about those who describe the nuclear option as a good idea. >> i would like to meet that idiot. i would like to meet that numskull that would say that, after 200 years at least 100 years of this tradition where the senate is functioned pretty well they think it would be a good idea to blow it up. idiot. no, whoever says that is a stupid idiot who has not been here and seen what i've been through and how we were able to avoid that on several occasions. and they are stupid and they deceived their voters because they are so stupid.

>> mccain's comments comes as politico reports, quote, gorsuch copied the structured language by several aurgt thors and failed to cite source material. they release this comparison of his writing on the left and the original author's work on the right. gorsuch allegedly mimicking the author word for word. the white house denies gorsuch did anything wrong releasing a statement that reads in part quote this false attack has been strongly refuted by highly regarded academic experts. there is only one explanation for this baseless last-second smear of judge gorsuch. those desperate to justify the unprecedented filibuster of a well qualified mainstream nominee to the supreme court. the backlash is growing against fox news star pill o'reilly, a slew of advertisers say they are pulling their ads from the o'reilly factor after more complaints of sexual harassment have come to light. anne thompsons that new fallout. >> reporter: bill o'reilly is rarely at a loss for words. >> i'm bill o'reilly.

thanks for watching us tonight. >> reporter: so far he said nothing on the show about the growing controversy over off-screen allegations of sexual harassment. but his advertisers are speaking with their wallets. an exodus of companies including bmw, mitsubishi motors and drugmaker glaxosmithkline all pulling ads from the o'reilly factor. allstate saying in a statement inclusivity and support for women are important allstate values. we are concerned about the issues surrounding the program and we have suspended our advertising. issues detailed in a "new york times" report that found fox news or o'reilly paid five women $13 million to settle harassment and inappropriate behavior claims against the star anchor. fox news said in a statement we value our partners and are working with them to address their current concerns. earlier this week in a statement o'reilly said his fame made him vulnerable to suits and he acted quickly to put to rest any controversies to spare his

children. his show is the number one program on cable news, pulling more than $100 million a year in ad revenue. more than 350 brands advertised on the show in the first three months of this year. at least 14 companies changed their plans as they wait to see what if any changes fox and o'reilly will make. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. just ahead, a big civil rights win regarding workplace discrimination. first we want to turn back to nbc meteorologist bill karins who has details on a new storm heading to the west. >> a huge storm dragging rain through the olympics and eventually will move into almost all areas of the west. winter storm watches up for the northern sierra. we'll see the rain spreading along the i-5 wore door. forecast today, seattle cloudy, on and off rain, 53 degrees. a lot of clouds from san francisco northward, sunshine in

southern a ri to be had in this country in areas of southern california and southern arizona. >> we'll talk more about the forecast for tomorrow which will bring more rain to the west. >> look at this road mishap in australia. it could have ended a whole lot worse. a motorcyclist is riding through a tunnel when a mattress flew off a passing truck. look what happens? it gets lodged in the bike's front wheel. fortunately the mattress broke the man's fall and he walked away with a few minor cuts. police tracked down the driver of the truck and fined him. >> it kind of looks like in slow mo that he hopped off onto the

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live claritin clear. every day. ♪ that's a new pepsi ad taking heat. it features kendall jenner in riot gear handing them a pepsi. "usa today" reports twitter takes pepsi to task over tone deaf jenner ad. then there is this. pepsi just made the commercial of the year for coke. a show of support from jenner's mother kris saying she is proud of her daughter as we all know. just back there cheering her kids on. a federal appeals court in

chicago rules that job discrimination based on sexual orientation is prohibited by civil rights law. now the ruling came out of a lawsuit filed by kimberly havely, claims a community college in indiana denied her a full time post because she is a lesbian. the college, however, denies her claims. championing a cause near and dear to his late mother's heart. on tuesday the president delivered a keynote speech, talking about princess diana's work. >> 20 years ago in the last months of her life, my mother campaigned to draw attention to the horrific and indiscriminate impact of land mines. she refused to accept that these destructive weapons should be left where they were, just because they were perceived as too expensive and difficult to remove. >> diana's walk through a mine field in angola in 1997 brought

the world the attention to this issue. >> incredible she has been gone two decades. >> so impactful. ahead ivanka trump responds to critics calling her complicit. can you guess how much each one of beyonce's instagrams are worth? i'm going to give you a little bit of a clue. it's a whole lot. you're watching "early today." we'll be right back. you could sh at the all-new carfax.com that might help. show me the carfax? now the car you want and the history you need are easy to find. show me used minivans with no reported accidents. boom. love it. [struggles] show me the carfax. start your used car search and get free carfax reports at the all-new carfax.com. heare you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool? try zyrtec® it's starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day.

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hear the phrase complicit. that jared and ivanka are

complicit in what's happening in the white house. what do you think of that accusation? >> if being complicit is wanting to -- is wanting to be a force for good, and to make a positive impact, then i'm complicit. i don't know what it means to be complicit, but you know, i hope time will prove that i have done a good job and much more importantly that my father's administration is the success that i know it will be. >> ivanka trump reacting to critics calling her complicit, reference used in "saturday night live's" perfume ad skit. ivanka's response had the word complicit trending on social media. and merriam-webster defining the word as helping commit a crime or do wrong in some way.

>> turning to beyonce and jay z, they're celebrating their ninth wedding anniversary and sharing a very touching movie montage which i watched about four times. it follows the couple's journey from the wedding to their daughter, blue ivy and the current twins pregnancy. it already has nearly 7 million views which comes as queen bay is the most valuable person on social media. the instagram, worth $1 million per post. can you believe that? >> actually i can. they're gorgeous, artful posts. she's beyonce, everything she does -- if she's wearing a gucci dress and blue ivy is wearing a mini gucci dress. >> like i watched the video three times. jay z is ready to celebrate because of this $1 million price tag, every time an instagram is

posted. he unveiled a high-end champagne selling for $850 a bottle. >> life is good, keeps getting better. still ahead, we'll tell you what features are being pitched for president trump's wall. plus which company just took over took general motors as the most valuable u.s. automaker. you're watching "early today." what took you so long? i know, i saved a ton of money on car insurance. that's what i'm talking about! geico also gives you 24/7 access to licensed agents! booooyah. good game, you really crushed it. no son, geico crushed it. ♪ ♪ heare you one sneeze away from being voted out of the carpool? try zyrtec® it's starts working hard at hour one and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day.

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hits, tesla surpassed general motors on tuesday as the most valuable car company in the u.s. it pushed back ford motor company on monday. tesla says it's delivered more than 250,000 vehicles just in the first quarter of this year, a 69% jump over last year. >> payless shoe source has filed for bankruptcy protection. it has decided to close 400 stores that struggles to compete with online retailers. >> nfl's deal to supreme football games, a $50 million deal will allow amazon to stream the games next season. twitter paid $10 million for the same rights last season. just ahead, bill karins with the latest on today's severe weather outbreak. the age-old question, what do you get for the man who seemingly has everything? you're watching "early today." then we wad it up to make it nice and soft. but grandma, we use charmin ultra soft so we don't have to wad to get clean.

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welcome back. it's an umbrella day in the pacific northwest, already seeing steady rain especially in the western portions of the state. cloud cover thickening in northern california. here is the rainfall forecast. we pinpoint obviously the mountains, going to ring it out, winter storm watches. the highest elevations could get feet of snow the next couple days. we pinpoint northern california for the possibility of one to maybe even three inches. we're watching the storms progressing across the country one after another. an active spring so far. >> bill, thank you. immigration arrests at the u.s.-mexico border have plummeted according to john kelly who told a panel that the people illegally entering the united states at the southern border dropped dramatically in

the month of march. fewer than 12,500 people caught last month down from 43,000 detained last summer. bids for the border wall rolled in with bids closing. it's up to companies to build their prototypes in hopes of landing the gig. >> some of the ideas include a wall cover including solar panels, a wall covered in artwork polished by stones and artifacts. there's even a proposal to build a wall wide enough for a deck at the top for tourists to enjoy a scenic view. those bidding for the job are also bracing for hostility with at least one company looking to see if its employees can carry guns to protect themselves in case of an attack. officials say a buffer zone around the construction site would be established if necessary. one florida police dog found a slippery suspect. >> in this body cam footage you can see the deputy dragging the suspect out of the water.

police say he and two accomplices stole a purse at a day-care center and drove right back in the van and hopped out of their car and started running. the other two men were arrested at the scene. all three were charged with hit-and-run among other violations. >> all in a dog day's work, right? sometimes you wonder what do you get for the person who has everything? the royals have this question as well. what do you get someone who has everything. prince charles and wife camila were faced with a dilemma while paying a visit to the vote khan. the prince admitted it's difficult to know what to give your holliness and revealed a basket of home made tea and chocolates. the british embassy says the food is meant to be shared with the poor. >> i like that. when you have everything, it's the experience, something moment made, personalized. >> experiential gifts are the best, trips, restaurants, shows, babysitting. anybody wanting to give me a gift of babysitting would be

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breaking news on your wednesday. a 4-month baby girl missing and police say her father took her. a live report up next. good morning, and thank you for joining us on today in the bay. it's 4:30. i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. wednesday morning, halfway through your work week. hoping for decent weather today. >> yeah, going to be the last dry day. >> last hurrah. >> i was saying that. the weather has a way of just strolling on into our weekend plans. it always starts with friday, but this time, it's going to start on thursday. but before i get to that, let's talk about what you're seeing as you head outdoors and you can prepare for today's workday or if you're heading out on an early morning run. south bay, 55 degrees. the south bay is pretty clear